So What If I'm a Little Arrogant? I'm the Empress Dowager's Savior

[A scheming concubine with a gift for acting × a cold-hearted emperor, plotting palace intrigue together + intense push and pull + mutual salvation]

Su Wantang, the least noticeable concubine-born daughter in the Prime Minister's household, has spent eighteen years in the shadow of being “invisible.”

She excels at acting: obedient in front of her stepmother, timid before her elder legitimate sister, and utterly forgettable in her father's eyes. Seven parts truth and three parts lies: she has fooled the entire household.

Until the day she threw herself in front of the Empress Dowager's palanquin, using her body as a shield and spilling blood across the imperial garden.

The emperor, Xiao Heng, saw through her at a glance. “Miss Su, your stitches are neater than your acting.”

She thought it was over, but he said, “I punish you. Who will act with me?”

From then on, the harem had a pair of “co-conspirators”:

She plays the shrew, and he hands her a knife. She plays the victim, and he stands up for her. When her act falls apart, he covers for her.

From Consort Wan of the fifth rank to Consort Chen of the second rank, from “chess piece” to “player,” she borrows the Empress Dowager's backing and the emperor's indulgence to slap Consort Li, have a cruel servant beaten to death, drive her stepmother mad, and confiscate the Prime Minister's household. She throws her weight around at every turn.

He knows she's scheming against Consort De, bringing down Consort Li, and using others to kill, yet time and again he conceals it for her, cleans up her messes, and overrules all objections to grant her the title “Chen.”

“Your Majesty, aren’t you afraid I’ll act you into a role, too?”

Xiao Heng holds her chin, his eyes dark as ink. “If you act the part of me, I’ll gladly play along.”